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The Pride (Comics)
The Pride is a fictional criminal organization that controlled the Los Angeles area of the Marvel Universe. The Pride debuted in Runaways, in 2002, and were created by Brian K. Vaughan and Adrian Alphona. Members Original Pride Despite the Pride's allegiance to one another, rifts and alliances had been common amongst the group; indeed, the most notable of the alliance was the Hayes and Deans, who had plotted to kill the other remaining Pride members and take their place in the New Eden, believing themselves to be superior to the others. All members of the Pride were given titles by the Gibborim. *Geoffrey and Catherine Wilder ("The Thieves") - parents of Alex. They are crime bosses who posed as business people. They handled drugs, gambling and robbing in Los Angeles. For this, these two established strong and powerful connections throughout the Los Angeles, a reason the Pride is able to frame their kids for murder and kidnap. Geoffrey had led the entire Pride. *Dale and Stacey Yorkes ("The Travelers") - parents of Gert. They are time travelers who posed as antique dealers. The two, using a special 4-D portico, traveled all over time, and had stolen a dinosaur, mentally linking it with their daughter. They believed the Gibborim would make a better world, one that wasn't full of superheroes who had foiled their plans in the past. *Frank and Leslie Dean ("The Colonists") - parents of Karolina. They are alien exiles from "Majesdane", the homeworld of their race, who posed as Hollywood actors and New Age enthusiasts. The Deans are intergalactic arms traders to the Skrulls. Karolina's alien powers were inhibited for most of her life because of a med. alert bracelet forged from far-distance strong metal. *Victor and Janet Stein ("The Wise Men") - parents of Chase. They are world-renown brilliant inventors, are known for making fortunes for what people believe are nessecities.They supposedly made a fortune from creating a tool that removes the annoying plastic wrapping easily from a CD. They also made "weaponized" gloves called Fistigons, multi-spectral goggles, the transport ship "the Leapfrog". Victor is the one parent often described as being the most abusive. *Gene and Alice Hayes ("The Outcasts") - parents of Molly. The two are telepathic mutants who posed as a doctor and a speech therapist. They had no idea that their daughter was also a mutant until the other children ran away from their homes. Conspired with the Deans to get rid of all human members of the Pride in order to ensure immortality for their families. The two can telepathically remove all memory and sedate people. *Robert and Tina Minoru ("the Magicians") - parents of Nico. The two are dark wizards who posed as an average, church-going, middle-class couple. When the Gibborim had first abducted the Pride from whatever they were doing, the Minorus were on their wedding day. In the Rite of Blood, Mr. Minoru conducts the enchanted spell of sacrifice. New Pride *Stretch - an overweight boy who lives with his grandmother. He role-played as several female (and predominantly scantily-clad) super-heroes, such as Emma Frost, Ms. Marvel, and the Invisible Woman. *Hunter Stein - a thin young man with a stereotypical "slacker" appearance. He role-played as the Hulk. *Lotus - a female fantasy fan who participates in Renaissance Fairs. She role-played as Daredevil. *Oscar - a temp worker. He role-played as Spider-Man. *Mister Prast - Former Agents *Lieutenant Flores - Lieutenant officer of the LAPD. Shot in the leg by Catherine Wilder for bringing Cloak and Dagger to L.A. and then killed by Geoffrey Wilder after he failed to capture the children. *'Alex Wilder' - revealed to be a spy for his parents and the rest of the Pride. Killed by the Gibborim. History Origin The Pride was called together in 1984 by the Gibborim. The six members of the Pride who served them best were promised control over the paradise that Earth would become once the Gibborim achieved their goal. The remaining six members would perish with the rest of the human race. For 25 years the Gibborim had given The Pride wealth and had their powers enhanced so that they could rule over the entire "city of angels". Every year, the Pride gathered at the Wilder residence, ostensibly for an annual charity fund raiser, while in reality, they would perform the "Rite of Blood," a ritual sacrifice of an innocent young female victim; the spirit of the victim would then be fed to the Gibborim in the subsequent "Rite of Thunder." After Janet Stein became pregnant during their third year as the Pride, the Pride agreed to end its struggle against one another. Each couple would instead ensure their child would receive one of the six places in the coming paradise. Volume One 17 years later, the Pride's children see "The Rite of Blood" and run away. With the help of LAPD Lieutenant Flores, their parents frame their children for the murder of the innocent girl who served as their most recent sacrifice. A note left at the Deans' house reveals that one of the Runaways is secretly loyal to the Pride. Due to an attack on their children by the vampire, Topher, the Pride tracked down and killed Topher's lackeys. In the process, the Pride learns that their children have defeated the vampire themselves. A mole tips off the Pride to their children's involvement with Cloak and Dagger. During a ceremony at the "Rite of Thunder", Alex Wilder manipulates his teammates into defeat and reveals himself as the mole. He learned of the Pride a year ago; he also discovered the Deans' and Hayes' betrayal. Molly Hayes' and Karolina Dean's parents plotted to betray the rest of the Pride and divide the Gibborim's reward between their two families. Alex manipulated the Runaways as a way to save his parents and rule paradise with Nico Minoru. Molly destroys the "Sacrificial Offering", the Gibborim destroy Alex, and the Pride's undersea lair collapses. In issue 17, all members of The Pride are apparently killed by the Gibborim. New Pride At the end of the first arc of the second series, however, a figure who had impersonated Chamber, is implied to be a resurrected Alex Wilder, and has formed a new Pride using some of the original team's tools. It was later revealed that a new group calling themselves The Pride have become active. They follow the Pride's beliefs, and have the Steins' copy of the Abstract. It has now been revealed that this Pride is made up of Alex's former friends on a Marvel Universe-based MMORPG he played. Hunter hacked into Alex's game account, and through that eventually found his computer's journal, and learned about the Pride. After Alex's death, the friends find certain items from the Pride in an attempt to bring back Alex, but end up killing Oscar, and bringing back a younger version of Alex's father, Geoffrey, from a time period of one year after joining the Pride. Geoffrey then lied to the new Pride acting as the "good guy" and saying that the Runaways killed Alex. Ironically, the new Pride formed because Alex's friends claimed that they wanted to become more "responsible members of society", and begin acting like adults. The Runaways' philosophy states that no adults are to be trusted. Geoffrey Wilder murders Gert as part of a sacrificial ritual, but he is captured and returned to his own time (with his memory erased in the process). The new Pride disbands after the Runaways reveal Geoffrey Wilder's true goal. Following Gert's death, Stretch checks himself into a mental health facility, and Hunter joins the Peace Corps to atone for the "blood" on his hands. Lotus is kidnapped (or, as she puts it, "hired") by Chase Stein to help him resurrect Gert. When the attempt fails, Chase releases Lotus, telling her to burn her copy of the Abstract. Other versions House of M The Pride is mentioned as ruling Southern California in the House of M reality warp. Unlike mainstream reality, their children stay with their parents. References Category:Comics Category:Characters Category:Comic Characters Category:Groups